GORDON — Water is getting into the borough sewage system during heavy rains and measures to at least curb the problem were discussed at Tuesday’s borough council meeting.
The ongoing problem with water entering the system during rain events has been raised over the years. On Tuesday, Borough Manager Paul L. Snyder spoke about the high volume of water entering the sewage treatment plant during recent rains.
“I read the meter yesterday (Monday) at the pump station at the treatment plant,” Snyder told the council. “Two weeks ago, we had all that rain, but we didn’t have anything like we had in the last three days. The meter showed 165,000 gallons for one day, 136,000 for the second day and 112,000 gallons for third day.”
Past discussions have speculated on the use of sump pumps and floor drains in homes that illegally send ionized water into the sewage system, along with roof gutters illegally connected to the system. Water can also enter the system from the surface — inflow — with stormwater getting in through manholes, and from underground — infiltration — through holes and cracks or breaks in the sewer line.
“We’ve had this conversation before when we have storm events,” council President Michael Rader said.
“But it just seems like so much though,” Snyder said. “Our daily input should be 25,000 to 30,000 gallons, but here we had 165,000 gallons in one day. The meter was almost off the charts.”
The sewage distribution system in Gordon is owned and maintained by the borough, which is connected to a Schuylkill County Municipal Authority sewage treatment plant. The borough pays for the use of the plant by the amount of sewage entering the plant. The clean water that enters the plant for treatment is an additional cost to the borough.
Councilman Brian Hansbury asked about the possibility of using a camera inside the sewer lines to determine what properties are allowing ionized water to enter the system.
“The other thing that could be a concern is since it is aging infrastructure, could there be infiltration issues outside the sump pumps?” Hansbury said. “Could there be stormwater getting into the system through the system itself?”
“That’s a lot of water,” Rader said.
“It is very significant,” Hansbury said.
“A couple of years I went around and had broken laterals fixed,” Snyder said. “I talked to Don Cuff (Entech Engineering project manager) about it and he said you would be surprised that if 30 or 40 laterals are broken how much water goes in them when it rains.”
“I know we’ve talked about this before, and we assigned a cost to it per gallon through the system, and we did some math on it and it was really insubstantial for that increase for one day,” Rader said. “That how we looked at it.”
The discussion ended and no action was taken.
In other business, the borough will begin using a credit/debit card to purchase items such as fuel for the borough vehicles.
After the reading of the treasurer’s report, Councilman Richard Babb asked Snyder about the purchases and payments of gasoline.
“You have these gas reimbursements. Wouldn’t it be easier just to have something like a credit card to get the gas and have a record of each purchase?” Babb asked.
“We tried that before and it didn’t work out, but if you want to try it again, I will,” Snyder said.
Snyder said the borough had a charge card through a convenience store chain for gasoline purchases, but the banking institution that the company was using charged late fees that Snyder said should not have been added. After contacting the store chain, Snyder was told by a representative that it was up to the bank to handle transactions, including a monthly charge. The borough canceled the store card.
“I’m an advocate of doing things easier if we have an account,” Rader said.
After a brief discussion, Rader said the borough could also get a card at a bank where the borough has accounts.
“Let’s get a bank card for our general account and utilize that for gas purchases,” Rader said, adding that the card won’t be limited to just one location, allowing to buy gasoline where the price is best.
Rader advised when a bank card is obtained that a daily limit be placed on it in case the card is lost or stolen.
Rader discussed the ongoing computerization of the borough office with assistant secretary/treasurer Linda S. Gately, who was hired by council last May to assist in the transition to a computer-based accounting system. Gately said much of the work getting information into the computer has been done, adding that when she cuts a check to pay an invoice, they are both scanned together for auditing purposes.
“Any update on the electronic filing of forms and taxes?” Rader asked.
“That is still being called in,” Gately said. “I need copies of the tax forms so I can scan them so I can have a record of what’s being done. That hasn’t changed. It’s not electronic.”
“Let’s get signed up for electronic filing of taxes and of forms,” Rader said.